Cisco Systems Inc. said it has added a professional-level certification for network engineers to configure and install a carrier-grade network suitable for service provider customers.

The new Cisco Certified Network Professional Service Provider certification (CCNP SP), which is valid for three years, replaces the earlier Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP) certification retired by the vendor in October, 2011, and rounds out its SP portfolio, which also includes the Cisco Certified Networking Associate Service Provider (CCNA SP) certification it launched this past March and a higher level Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE SP) certification.

CCNP SP is aimed at service provider network engineers, channel partner sales engineers, channel partner field engineers, service provider system engineers and service provider network specialists, the company said.

Norm Dunn, Cisco service provider product manager, said that the CCNP certification, which has been expanded from the prior CCIP to encompass more key technologies, focuses on tasks associated with network engineering jobs, provides hands on experience on Cisco’s newest carrier grade hardware and operating system, and covers Cisco’s IP network next generation architecture, among other technologies.

CCNP was “specifically developed to validate the job ready, practical skills and knowledge required to implement, verify, troubleshoot and optimize the service provider network environment,” said Dunn.

Cisco said that the CCNP SP, along with the recently offered CCNA SP and the CCIE SP certifications together provide networking engineers with a full complement of training and certification in IP next generation networks.

“The Cisco Service Provider certification program validates the capabilities of network engineers with the latest core and intelligent edge technologies in order to deliver a scalable carrier-grade infrastructure capable of rapid expansion to support the ongoing introduction of new managed services," said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, Learning@Cisco vice president and general manager.